


Yellow

by AethraCaelis



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Post-Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-09
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-07-29 14:26:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7687948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AethraCaelis/pseuds/AethraCaelis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ever since they were reunited after the hijacked wormhole incident, Hunk noticed that Allura had either been avoiding him, or just looked through him. If Voltron was all about bonding, how come the Yellow Paladin felt distant from his Princess?</p><p>Inspired after seeing astute observations on tumblr about the color scheme of King Alfor's armor ;D♥ Set after the end of Season 1, and after a (hypothetical) reunion of the Paladins and the Alteans.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Yellow

Hunk was not one to mind if people ignored him, passed him over for someone more good looking, or someone they believed to be smarter just because they had perfectly sculpted teeth. He did not like being in the spotlight, after all. So long as he was happy with his work, so long as his professors and seniors did not have any room to complain, so long as he had friends who were true to him, life was good.

But it became unsettling when it was glaringly obvious, especially when attention is only divided among a handful of people, and that said people were ones he had come to greatly cherish -– such as their ragtag team of Paladins and Altean royalty.

“… we have no more than two minutes to take advantage of the gap in the barrier; so Pidge will go in first to install the disruptor,” Allura recapped the steps into their latest mission, one in which the Voltron team were to extract information regarding the Galra Empire network, “then Lance and Keith will create a distraction for the canons and single fighter units. Shiro -–”

“ _Hunk_ will cover the Green Lion -–” Hunk could practically see the elephant in the room, with the way Shiro cut in, and Lance’s brows raised a notch as if trying to convince himself that he did not notice the discrepancy in Allura’s brief. “And I will be with Pidge so we can navigate the ship together and avoid sentries. We extract the data, signal the others, and we rendez-vous back to the Castle. Enter, steal, and run; then we wormhole our way out of there.”

Ever since they were reunited after the hijacked wormhole incident, Hunk noticed that Allura had either been avoiding him, or just looked through him. If she ever needed to talk to him directly, she was either looking at the ground, or talking to galaxy maps and mission schematics. He had not had the heart to confront her about it, nor talk to Shiro about it – they had enough on their plate as it is. And with Team Voltron making significant and strategic advances in their rebellion, their leaders have had their hands full with distress signals and negotiating alliances.

But if Voltron was all about bonding, how come the Yellow Paladin felt distant from his Princess?

***

A few more missions have come and gone, and Allura’s behavior towards Hunk has not changed. It was such that the other Paladins and Coran have come to notice this, what with the way their looks shift between Hunk and the Princess during mission briefings and debriefings. Hunk could also swear that the mice might actually know something was up, with the way they have been pointedly spending more time with him.

But he really had not had the heart to come to a confrontation. So long as the team was working smoothly, right? So long as everyone else are getting along, and that there were no hard friction going on, Hunk willingly tucked his misgivings away. There were far more important things at hand -- like making sure his teammates get a good meal before the next distress signal comes in.

“Hunk?” Coran’s cheerful voice echoed through the intercom, just as Hunk was torching an improvised flambé. “I need you at the helm. Come right away if you please.”

Aside from cooking, Hunk was thankful for Coran’s assignments that kept mind and hands busy. He set the flambé aside, planning to serve it for dinner later, and went on his way.

The door to the helm opened with a hiss as Hunk stepped in, expecting his mustachioed friend to welcome him with a grocery list of things to be done in the next two hours, but he was nowhere to be found. There was, however, Allura, who was actually doing said callibrations.

“Hey, uh, Allura? Where’s Coran?”

She did not turn around and kept her eyes on the holoscreens parsing data that Hunk had come recognize.

“He’s checking on the Black Lion with Pidge.”

 _Pidge --_  the only way Hunk knew as to how Coran managed to override the general comm channel; or at least make it seem as if Coran paged the entire castleship when he was just wanting to reach the kitchen.

Hunk stood for a ticks, internally debating whether to just walk on out of there and do as if nothing happened, or whether to seize this chance, if at least to get things out in the clear. What with recent happenings, the latter choice won out. He took a small breath and walked towards Allura’s pedestal. “Do you have a minute?”

“As you can see, Hunk, I am quite busy —”

“That data parsing will be done in seventy-two ticks,” said matter-of-factly, with no hint of condescension or malice. But before Allura could offer another counter, Hunk released a small huff. “This is important. Please.”

He could see Allura’s shoulders tense for a moment, until she lifted her hands off her twin controllers and turned to face him; and still, not truly looking at him, but through him.

“What can I do for you?”

 _Lance had gotten a warmer welcome when they first met_ , Hunk thought; but he swatted away at those thoughts and chose to focus on the elephant in the room.

“Look –- I don’t know if it’s just me, and I hope it’s just me overthinking things so we can go on with our lives, but,” hands at his sides, Hunk fidgeted with his fingers as he spoke, doing his best to find the words to get his sentiments out as clearly as possible. Hunk did his best to keep levity in his voice, but for those who have come to know him, there was an undercurrent of sadness and unease. “Did I do something wrong? I mean, I know I mess up a lot of times, but have I done anything to offend you? I’ve probably overlooked something, and I’m really sorry, but I really can’t figure it out and --”

“Hunk…”

“ –- it’s probably a cultural thing; and even if we’ve been together in this team for months –- has it been months? Or has it been a year? I can’t really tell, but anyway --”

“Hunk!” Allura spoke more firmly, enough to make the Yellow Paladin stop rambling. She walked from her pedestal to his space, and looked up at him with a sad smile. “You have done nothing wrong. It’s me, I --” She took in a deep breath, and Hunk inclined his head as if to say, ‘ _Go on, please…_ ’. “My father, King Alfor, was the Paladin of the Yellow Lion before you.”

“Oh.” How could Hunk forget the near sapient hologram that had been the source of Allura’s many smiles, and her pillar of strength when Team Voltron was just getting started? And how could he forget how she had to let him go so as to save the castleship and their lives? “Oh. Well… I guess I have big shoes to fill! I’m not him, but I’ll do my best to -- ”

“You are not him; that, I know all too well.” Allura reached to hold Hunk’s hand, folding it in both of hers. “But you share quite a lot of similarities with him. Both of you put others before yourselves; both of you place the utmost importance on people’s lives, and both of you are capable of seeing the bigger picture that lies behind the more pressing circumstances.”

Hunk felt his face grow warm, and his free hand rubs the back of his head bashfully. But he stopped his introspection when he saw Allura’s lips drawn in a tight line and lowering her gaze, her hold on his hand tensing, tears lining her lashes. He mentally dropped whatever it was he planned to say, and opted instead to gently hold Allura in an embrace.

“You miss him.”

Allura allowed herself to sink into the warm and gentle embrace, and she nodded against Hunk’s shoulder. "I know... I know that it's just the quintessence of the lion and the Paladin, but I can't help but think, how similar you and my father are. Please believe me when I say that I cannot imagine anyone else being the Yellow Paladin now, but sometimes... it pains me. I miss him so much!"

The Yellow Paladin bit his lip as the weight of the fact felt like meteors crashing into his stomach: a barely certified engineer from the Garrison, succeeding no less than a King of an alien civilization. And yet, here was Allura who carried the burden of ten thousand years of galactic oppression. Hunk already knew how much of a responsibility they had to give freedom back to the enslaved civilizations, and they have gone through so many missions, not knowing how much of a dent they have actually made in Zarkon's hold of the known universe; but he could barely imagine how heavy this burden was on the Princess’ shoulders.  A lesser being would have already broken down, five minutes into the game, but Hunk was not blind to the incredible strength that Allura has shown them.

 “I’m sorry, Allura.”

She shook her head, tears falling freely. Hunk gently stroked her hair, listening. “It’s just that… I’m afraid of losing you –- you, Shiro, Lance, Keith, Pidge, Coran. After all that's happened... losing you would feel like losing my father all over again, losing my people all over again.”

She might be from an alien race that had surpassed the pinnacle of what humans could accomplish, but she, too, had her limits. As much as he needed her, Lance, and the other Paladins, Allura needed her father, Coran, and her Paladins.

“You know,” Hunk did not quite release her just yet, leaving Allura with the choice if she wanted to let go. “Shiro keeps on telling us to just go to him if we have anything that’s bothering us. But it can’t work just one way, that we have to keep on laying things on him or on you. We’re a team, we’re family. I know you want to be strong for us, but you can count on us too...” then gentler, but clearer, "You can talk to me."

Allura nodded against him. She was far from the hierarchical structure and formality of a full Altean army -– from the time she had stumbled out of her cryopod, to reuniting with her team after being ripped apart through the expanses of space -– the need to strictly follow the chain of command at all times was gradually becoming moot.

With a calming breath, Allura raised her head to finally look Hunk in the eye, and she was met with a warm smile and a fond look. “It’s no wonder you are one of the legs of Voltron...” She wiped her tears with her sleeve, but made to move to get out of Hunk’s hold. “I’m sorry for my behavior towards you, Hunk. I didn’t know how to address how I was feeling, after all that’s happened. Thank you for coming to talk to me.”

At that, Allura wrapped her arms around her Yellow Paladin, indulging in a long squeeze, and Hunk was more than glad to return the gesture. “It’s okay, no harm done! You just got me worried -– but I worry all the time, so that’s kind of a given.”

They finally let go, and a smile found itself on Allura’s face. “So, we’re good?” Hunk asked, finally feeling a great weight of worry lifted from his chest.

“Yes, we're good! I think we also have Coran to thank for orchestrating this meeting.”

“Ah hah~ right! He called me, said it was urgent. Do you actually need help in doing the calibrations?”

“Oh—no! I’m managing well enough, thank you, Hunk.”

“Well, if you need me,” Hunk gestures towards the helm’s door, “I’m at the kitchen whipping up something new for dinner. Don’t be late, alright?”

Allura stepped back up on her pedestal to finish her work. “I won’t miss it. See you later!”

***

If the reactions to the flambé were any indication, and the way the castleship seems to have a very pleasant hum running through it, Coran highly believes that the conversation had gone quite well. He allowed himself a smug smile, mentally patting himself on the back. The scene in front of him does not quite take him back to the days of King Alfor, but he allows himself fond nostalgia, seeing the lively exchange going on once more between the Princess and the Yellow Paladin.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting on AO3, and my first time in forever writing a fanfic after years of journal roleplaying and basically not writing. Pardon for any hiccups you might find, and I hope you like this little hypothetical snippet. Comments are very much welcome!


End file.
